Ben Stafford – WWF UK Bloghttp://blogs.wwf.org.uk
WWF UKTue, 12 Dec 2017 10:16:00 +0000en-GBhourly1After the UK General Election, what does the next government need to do for the environment?http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/government/governments-environmental-to-do-list-post-election/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/government/governments-environmental-to-do-list-post-election/#commentsFri, 09 Jun 2017 09:27:00 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=23903

So, an election campaign that most had expected to deliver an increased Conservative majority ends in a hung parliament, and a Conservative government supported by the Democratic Unionist Party. Those in the business of predicting poll results might be better reading tea leaves for inspiration, but amid the shock, what does this all mean for […]

]]>So, an election campaign that most had expected to deliver an increased Conservative majority ends in a hung parliament, and a Conservative government supported by the Democratic Unionist Party. Those in the business of predicting poll results might be better reading tea leaves for inspiration, but amid the shock, what does this all mean for the environment, and for WWF’s priorities?

Regardless of the uncertainty in Westminster, urgent steps are needed to protect the environment.

Ahead of the General Election, WWF highlighted to all the parties what their priorities should be for the coming five years. Thank you to everyone who joined your voices with ours. Politicians need to hear from all corners and all walks of life how important protecting our environment is, and a collective call is stronger. We focused on three broad areas where we believe the UK government can have the most impact:

Global leadership on climate change, and the domestic plans to cut carbon emissions that are essential to back that up at home;

A long-term plan for the environment, which should tackle our footprint abroad, as well as improving how we protect our own wildlife and habitats; and

Action against the illegal wildlife trade that poses a huge threat to populations of iconic species including elephants, rhinos and tigers.

With the Conservatives returning to office at Westminster, we now expect Theresa May and her ministerial team to set out – as a matter of urgency – what they will do in each of these areas. The Queen’s Speech that is expected to open the new Parliament on 19 June is likely to focus on delivering Brexit, through the Great Repeal Bill that we are told will ensure that the whole body of existing EU environmental law continues to have effect in UK law.

WWF and other groups will need to be vigilant to ensure that, when those laws are brought across, they cannot be repealed or changed by Ministers at the stroke of a pen and without proper scrutiny by Parliament, but there are plenty of other things the UK government needs to be thinking about besides the Repeal Bill.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris

President Trump’s recent baffling decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement – in the face of global public opinion and overwhelming scientific evidence – puts even greater onus on the remaining 190-plus parties to that Agreement, including the UK, to step up their ambition. That means the next government must press ahead with producing a plan to reduce UK emissions and drive clean growth, including setting ambitious targets for energy efficiency, ultra-low emissions transport and a range of renewables.

The Conservative General Election manifesto reaffirmed the UK government’s pre-election pledges to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it, and to produce a comprehensive 25 Year Environment Plan. These are strong and ambitious commitments, but once again we need the government to get on with producing that long-awaited plan, and setting out clear milestones for how it will deliver. With last year’s Living Planet Report highlighting the crisis facing the world’s wildlife, the 25 YearPlan should have a strong international dimension, addressing our environmental footprint in other countries.

Speaking of global responsibility, the new government must maintain UK leadership on the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) as we head towards next year’s expected London Conference on that issue. While the UK has made more money available to tackle IWT, and the Conservative manifesto promised conservation cooperation with international bodies to protect rare species, the 2015 commitment to press for a ban on UK ivory sales was missing from the 2017 manifesto. We hope this lack of a reference to ivory trade doesn’t indicate any reduction in commitment, and we will be working with allies across the parties at Westminster to press the government to produce its previously promised consultation on this issue as quickly as possible. The UK must get its own house in order on the IWT if it is to be a credible leader in London next year.

So there’s plenty in the new government’s in-tray besides Brexit. A week may be a long time in politics – in fact 24 hours is starting to seem like an eternity in these unpredictable times – but in environmental terms the period of this new government will be a short but critical time in which the UK must show real leadership, turn around wildlife declines and help put the world firmly on the path to a low carbon future.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/government/governments-environmental-to-do-list-post-election/feed/1Could BEIS be the vehicle the low carbon economy has been waiting for?http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/beis-vehicle-low-carbon-economy-waiting/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/beis-vehicle-low-carbon-economy-waiting/#commentsFri, 16 Sep 2016 08:11:04 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=21937Climate change took centre stage in the controversy surrounding the formation of Theresa May’s government this July. One day into her premiership, it was announced that DECC would be merged with BIS, to form BEIS. Politicians and campaigners were quick to point out that, in the acronym acrobatics of the new Prime Minister’s departmental restructure, […]

]]>Climate change took centre stage in the controversy surrounding the formation of Theresa May’s government this July. One day into her premiership, it was announced that DECC would be merged with BIS, to form BEIS. Politicians and campaigners were quick to point out that, in the acronym acrobatics of the new Prime Minister’s departmental restructure, two important letters had been lost: CC.

May’s decision to abolish the department with a named responsibility for tackling climate change provoked a backlash from civil society and former secretaries of state at the now defunct DECC (Department for Energy and Climate Change). Their main objections to the merger of DECC and BIS (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills), and the omission of ‘Climate Change’ from the name of the new BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy), were that it:

was a capitulation to climate sceptics in Parliament

would side-line climate change within the department and at the cabinet table

Although these were legitimate concerns, the evidence suggests neither that the restructure was an attempt to kick climate change into the long grass nor to inhibit the process of de-carbonising the UK economy. Despite lingering uncertainties, signals from BEIS have been mostly positive and, if this continues, the new department has the potential to be a powerhouse for the low carbon economy.

Appeasing the climate-sceptics?

The Global Warming Policy Foundation, the UK’s foremost climate-sceptic think tank, has previously called for DECC to be abolished. In 2014 and 2015, Conservative backbenchers presented ultimately doomed private member’s bills to that effect, requesting DECC’s functions be absorbed by BIS.

Although this is what Theresa May appeared to do, there are important differences between what the climate-sceptics had proposed and what actually happened in the restructure. Rather than DECC being diminished and subsumed by BIS, it has been merged with a reduced BIS. All the previous climate change functions of the old department have been fully transferred to BEIS, which is now run by the permanent secretary from DECC. Furthermore, the ministerial division of roles and responsibilities with BEIS suggest an attempt to connect energy and climate policy with business and industrial strategy, rather than to side-line the former.

May’s appointments to key BEIS positions appear to confirm this. Greg Clark, the Secretary of State, previously served as shadow DECC secretary (2008-2010) and was widely praised for his leadership on energy efficiency. His first statement as BEIS secretary highlighted ‘delivering affordable, clean energy and tackling climate change’ as priorities for the new department. The minister responsible for delivering the last of these ambitions, Nick Hurd, is also an outspoken climate change advocate, and was earlier in 2016 named ‘MP of the Year’ at a green awards ceremony.

Side-lining decarbonisation?

Perhaps the strongest argument against the DECC/BIS merger is that it will weaken the status of climate change within government. Ed Miliband, DECC’s first ever secretary of state, argued that losing a dedicated climate change department would be a setback for the low carbon agenda because ‘dep[artmen]ts shape priorities, shape outcomes’. It is unlikely, however, that the restructure ‘risks dropping climate change from the policy agenda altogether’, as the New Economics Foundation has argued.

The government is legally bound by the UK’s Climate Change Act to meet its incrementally increasing emissions reduction targets. The department responsible for delivery, now BEIS, is obligated to produce carbon plans that spell out how these targets will be met. Sam Fankhauser, a climate change specialist at the London School of Economics, argues that BEIS provides a ‘much better, stronger basis from which to decarbonise the UK economy’ than DECC, as to do so ‘requires the close coordination of climate, energy and industrial policy’.

This coordination is vital for decarbonising the heat sector in particular, and for mainstreaming innovative technologies like storage and Demand Side Response – all of which should be at the heart of the carbon plan. Having responsibility for industry and climate change within the same department should lead to new policies for low carbon growth that, as Greg Clark has pointed out in to reference renewable energy infrastructure, will ‘build new industries and create new jobs’.

Heavy industrial area in Teeside @ WWF / Ashley Cooper

Sending the wrong signals?

Angus MacNeil MP, chair of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, pointed out that investor confidence in the UK energy sector has been low following the EU referendum and years of uncertainty on energy policy.

Environmental lawyers ClientEarth argued that abolishing DECC shortly after the unexpected and destabilising vote to leave the EU sent ‘a terrible signal at the worst possible time’. Of the 50 large business energy users surveyed by Inenco in early August, a majority were worried about a downgrading of the climate change agenda following the merger.

However, this ‘bad’ signal has been followed by series of good ones. The ratings agency S&P Global claimed that, despite uncertainty, the ministerial appointments at BEIS and the government’s decision the pass the 5th Carbon Budget, a requirement of the Climate Change Act that sets the government’s emissions reduction targets, had boosted optimism within the renewable energy sector. Although Amber Rudd, the last DECC secretary, had set the carbon budget’s wheels in motion before Theresa May’s ascension to the premiership, one of the first acts of the May government was to approve it. In his short time as BEIS secretary, Greg Clark has already given the green light to the creation of the world’s largest offshore windfarm.

Offshore wind farm off the Cumbrian coast @ WWF / Ashley Cooper

These are important first steps, but the government still needs to do more to reassure investors of its future plans for the low carbon economy. The UK should follow in the footsteps of China and the United States by taking the symbolic, albeit easy, step of ratifying the Paris Agreement. The best thing the government could do, however, is produce an ambitious carbon plan before the end of the year that brings business and industry into its efforts to decarbonise the UK economy – something it is better placed to do now than ever before.

This blog was written by Liam Taggart, Public Affairs Intern at WWF-UK and President of the Energy & Environment Policy Centre at King’s Think Tank.

If you have any thoughts or comments for Liam on this subject, you can Tweet him @MiddleKitchen

A lot has happened since the UK voted to leave the European Union on 23 June. Prime Ministers have come and gone, Cabinet Ministers have been purged and promoted, and the main party of Opposition is engaged in another battle for its leadership, just a year after the last one. With all this political upheaval, […]

With all this political upheaval, it’s possible to forget that the really important decisions about what happens after ‘Brexit’ have still to be made. These are the decisions about what policies – economic, social and, importantly, environmental – will be put in place following the referendum.

The UK’s environment is protected (though not well enough, we would say) by a latticework of laws – some UK-level, some devolved, some global …and many that started life in the EU. This web of laws protects rare wildlife and its habitats, keeps our air and water clean, and shapes how we farm our countryside and fish our seas and the action we take to tackle climate change.

So, whether you voted Remain or Leave on 23 June, we are asking you now – as someone who cares about our environment and its wildlife – to make your voice heard, and ensure that our MPs know we expect the UK to be just as green – and preferably greener – outside the EU.

Please ask your MP* to support the pledge to make the UK a world leader on the environment. Your personally worded appeal to your MP will make a difference, and the more MPs who sign, the more governments across the UK will know they must prioritise the environment in the negotiations to come.

Autumn is with us, the leaves are turning and there is an unmistakeable feeling of impending winter in the air. So it must be party conference season – or, to be precise, party conference season must have come and gone. The Liberal Democrats have met in Bournemouth and Labour in a still sunny Brighton. The […]

]]>Autumn is with us, the leaves are turning and there is an unmistakeable feeling of impending winter in the air. So it must be party conference season – or, to be precise, party conference season must have come and gone.

The Liberal Democrats have met in Bournemouth and Labour in a still sunny Brighton. The Conservatives braved typical Manchester weather, with plenty of showers among the bright spells, and the SNP have just finished their gathering in a clear but chilly Aberdeen.

The conferences used to be held pretty much exclusively in seaside towns, with Bournemouth, Brighton and Blackpool the favourites. The first two still feature, as this year, though Blackpool seems to have slipped off the list of chosen destinations. Instead, conferences increasingly take place in big cities, like Manchester and Birmingham.

WWF-UK Chief Executive David Nussbaum speaking at the Conservative Conference

To those not committed to any political tribe, these can seem like rather odd events – gatherings of political anoraks (and often real anoraks, given the prevailing weather at this season). But they are opportunities to talk to the parties – and their activists – to remind them of the promises they have made, and to press them into action on new issues.

For that reason, WWF – and many other charities – get involved with the conferences. A small and intrepid team of us heads off in the autumn to talk to politicians at their jamborees, and to try to make sure that pressure on them for action is coming from within their parties, as well as outside.

This year, we were talking about nature. Working with colleagues from the RSPB and The Wildlife Trusts, we highlighted to the political parties the threats to our natural world – starkly illustrated by our recent ‘Living Planet’ (PDF) and ‘Living Blue Planet’ (PDF) reports – but also the opportunities for them to change the direction of travel.

Those opportunities include the Government’s commitment to producing a 25 year plan for nature, with work on that starting in earnest this autumn. We are calling on politicians of all parties to push to ensure that this is an ambitious and wide-ranging plan – one that includes action on the UK’s environmental footprint abroad as well as the restoration of our biodiversity and habitats at home.

We are urging UK politicians to maintain the strong leadership of recent years on tackling poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, and to lead the campaign this autumn for reform of the EU’s Timber Regulation, supporting the aim of achieving a market in 100% legal and sustainable timber by 2020. And in the marine environment, we are pressing politicians to complete the work of designating an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas in the UK’s seas.

Atlantic grey seal, Lundy Island, UK

So there is much for politicians of all parties to be doing – and clear drivers for them to do it. Among these are the new Sustainable Development Goals, agreed around a month ago in New York, which all governments have a responsibility to implement. Strong action to protect and improve the natural environment would be an important contributor to the UK delivering on these goals.

Equally important will be an ambitious global deal to tackle climate change and, with the clock ticking down towards December’s crunch Paris summit we, with other organisations that are members of the Climate Coalition, took our message to the Conservative Conference that we need to see the UK leading in this area. That leadership means both pushing for a strong deal in Paris, but also backing it up with the measures at home – including investment in renewables and energy efficiency and an end to dirty coal – that will show that the UK can walk the walk. We asked Conservative MPs to back the ambitions of the pledge on climate action that the Prime Minister signed early this year.

In short, there was lots to talk about at this year’s conferences. We did our bit to ensure that environmental arguments cut through the cacophony of the cold canapé circuit, and that ambitions were raised for the crucial political decisions to come.

On Wednesday 17 June, thousands of people from across the UK – including many WWF supporters – will converge on Westminster to tell newly elected Members of Parliament why they should be concerned about climate change, and what they should do to tackle it. This mass lobby – organised by The Climate Coalition – will […]

If you are signed up, fantastic! It’s going to be a fun day, as well as an important one. But I’m not going to use this blog to tell you what you might say to your MPs, though it is worth thinking about what kind of messages they might respond to. As far as you know, is your MP a nature lover, or most concerned about the impact climate change could have on the poorest people around the world? Or is the pressing priority for them to tackle climate change because of the impacts that not doing so could have on long-term security and economic growth ?

We’ll send more information separately on what you could say, and we also want as many personal hopes, fears and experiences to form part of the conversations that happen on the day; there are as many reasons to want to see action on climate change as there will be people at the event in London on 17 June. What I really want to do here though is say a bit about what lobbying (or just speaking to) your MP feels like.

The not so dark arts

The first thing to say is that lobbying your MP is an honourable pursuit, not a shady activity! The word ‘lobby’ has picked up some baggage that really isn’t justified – the sense that it’s in some way a secret or ‘not above board’ activity. In fact, telling your MP what matters to you is exactly the opposite – it’s about openness; ensuring they work for you, and that they understand the things that matter to you so they can do so more effectively. It’s about speaking to them on the record, in the bright light of day (well, maybe that’s putting a little too much faith in the British summer weather, but you know what I mean!). As our politicians said repeatedly during the recent General Election campaign we – the voters – are their bosses. So we need to make sure they understand what we want them to do.

MPs are human beings too

In a BBC debate during the General Election, Liberal Democrat Peer Baroness Brinton remarked that “sometimes people forget politicians are human as well”, to which presenter Andrew Neil replied “what’s the evidence of that?” But the noble Baroness had a point. Your MPs are indeed human beings, and like all groups of people, they have a wide range of interests. In my experience of talking to MPs over many years, most are actually also quite pleasant, and want to hear what you’ve got to say – that’s even more the case if you are one of their constituents. They are also not experts on every subject they deal with; they can’t be, given the number of different issues people bring to them. So don’t worry that your MP will know much more than you about climate change, or will try to catch you out – the chances are it will be you who knows more than them and, if you need help, there will be plenty of staff from The Climate Coalition organisations on hand on the day of the event.

But they have lots on their plates

One thing though that is true of MPs is that they are busy. They receive hundreds of letters, e-mails and phone calls a week and, in addition to their parliamentary business, spend a lot of time flitting from one meeting to the next. So there is a limit to the amount of detail they can absorb. Lobbying them effectively therefore means being as clear and concise as you can be with what you want to say. We have prepared for you a clear brief setting out the key actions MPs should take. There will also be a short document to hand in to your MP. If they want more information they will ask for it, and if you don’t have it with you you can send it through later. Please remember to let members of the Coalition know what your MP told you.

Keeping it local

We will have important messages about the need for both national and international action to tackle climate change. But your MP will also want to hear why the issues matter to you. Which local wildlife do you fear will be lost to a changing climate? What has been the impact of flooding in your area? Is enough happening near you to develop new, renewable sources of energy? Local examples, and local stories, make the conversation about climate change real and immediate – and they will also underline to your MP’s why you care enough to visit them in London.

Most of all though, enjoy the day. Visiting Parliament is a great experience, and all the more so as part of such a large group of people calling for action on the same issues. I look forward to seeing you there!

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/green-economy/lets-get-ready-to-lobby/feed/0It’s time to vote for your planet!http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/campaigns/its-time-to-vote-for-your-planet/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/campaigns/its-time-to-vote-for-your-planet/#commentsMon, 04 May 2015 07:00:30 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=17945

After what has seemed like perhaps the longest election campaign in history (it began way back in the mists of time, on 30 March) the General Election is finally upon us. This Thursday, 7 May, voters across the UK will go to the polls and on Friday, we might know who will be governing us […]

Like most charities, WWF-UK has been pretty quiet during the campaign. We are a non-party political organisation, so we have no interest in being involved in the day to day campaigning and squabbling between candidates and parties. But we have been reading through the parties’ manifestos, and listening to what leaders and candidates have had to say. And we’ve been comparing what they’re offering us for the next five years with with what we’ve been calling on them to do

Here are our reflections on the campaign:

We haven’t heard a lot about the environment or climate change

Considering the many hours of airtime politicians have had, and the number of opportunities there have been to debate a wide range of issues, we have heard relatively little about the environment during this campaign. There were one or two glancing references to green issues during the leaders’ debates, and spokespeople discussed them in more detail on the BBC’s Daily Politics, but mostly they have been notable by their absence. Why is this? Well part of the blame lies with politicians for not wanting to talk about the environment and climate change, but the media has a responsibility too. In its analysis of party manifestos, it has focused on particular areas and had little to say about others – and the environment has been one of those less discussed areas.

Parties’ manifesto’s contain quite a lot of environmental content

Call it a form of cruel and unusual punishment, but one of my tasks in the last few weeks has been to read through the parties’ manifestos for the coming Parliament – many thousands of words and rafts of pledges and promises. And there is lots about the environment and climate change in them, including a lot that picks up on and takes forward our priorities. Again, it isn’t our job to tell you which manifestos are best, or how you should vote, but if you’re still thinking about your choice now, we’ve set out on our General Election web page where you can find the environmental content in each party’s offer.

Environmental issues matter – the next five years are critical

In order to tackle climate change and reverse the declines of wildlife and habitats, we need action now from governments across the world, including the new UK Government. We know that, and you do too – our supporters are among many millions who support environmental groups in the UK. 2015 is a crucial year – with December’s climate change summit in Paris, agreement of new international Sustainable Development Goals and reform of the EU’s Timber Regulation, which needs to protect the world’s forests better, all in the in-tray for the new Prime Minister and his team (I am assuming it will be a ‘him’, with apologies to Nicola Sturgeon, Leanne Wood and Natalie Bennett).

And in 2015 and beyond, the next Government will also need to make decisions in order to help tackle the illegal wildlife trade, protect our marine environment and fresh water habitats and move us to a ‘greener’ model of managing and running the economy.

Throughout the campaign, we’ve been delighted and grateful that many of you have been using our Manifesto Builder to contact the candidates standing in your own constituencies and ask them what they will do – if elected – to be environmental champions. There’s still time to e-mail your candidates now if you haven’t done so, though bear in mind you may not get a response from them in the final, hectic days before polling day!

We need MPs – of all parties, in government or opposition – who are committed to building a future where people and nature thrive. If we have environmental champions in the corridors of Westminster and Whitehall, we have a greater chance of addressing the challenges we – and our natural world – face.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/campaigns/its-time-to-vote-for-your-planet/feed/1Politicians: What will you do for the environment?http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/campaigns/politicians-what-will-you-do-for-the-environment/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/campaigns/politicians-what-will-you-do-for-the-environment/#commentsMon, 30 Mar 2015 08:30:36 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=17764

So the starting-gun has finally been fired. The shadow-boxing has been going on for weeks, if not months, but, with the dissolution of Parliament, we are now in the final short campaign. This is the period when candidates are hunkered down in their constituencies, pushing and contending for every vote, while party leaders criss-cross the […]

This is the period when candidates are hunkered down in their constituencies, pushing and contending for every vote, while party leaders criss-cross the country or fan out into the TV and radio studios to get the message out as widely as possible .

WWF’s work to influence the political parties, and their plans for power if they are successful in the election, has been going on for even longer. We set out our priorities at the start of 2014, and have been talking to all of the parties about them ever since. In a few days’ time, we’ll know whether they listened. The parties will publish their manifestos – their blueprints for government – in the first half of April.

What have we been asking for?

We believe that the next government, of whatever party or combination of parties, faces a critical five years in which it will need to make really important decisions about how we tackle climate change , protect endangered and iconic wildlife species and safeguard and restore threatened habitats . The challenges are great, but so are the opportunities.

And so, to help our politicians take the right path, we have set out priorities in three broad areas:

Save the world’s forests and wildlife

Our natural resources and wildlife are under pressure. Forests continue to disappear, while the senseless slaughter of rhinos, tigers, elephants and other species – and trade in their products and parts – diminishes their populations and outrages people across the world.

This year sees the beginning of a review of the European Union’s Timber Regulation, which seeks to control the import of illegal timber and timber products into the EU. At present, it is full of holes in terms of the products and items it covers, and is not enforced effectively across the EU. The next government must work with partners to close those loopholes and push for continent-wide coverage.

British politicians have been in the forefront of recognising the scale of the problems posed by the illegal wildlife trade and international wildlife crime; last year, the Government convened the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, and a strong Declaration emerged from that meeting. The next Government needs to maintain that leadership – both by working with other governments to ensure that the commitments from London are enforced and by providing long-term funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit here in the UK. This body is in the forefront of UK action against wildlife crime – it needs to know that it has continuing, rather than just year-to-year, financial backing from Ministers.

Action on climate change

It is not too late to avert the worst impacts of dangerous climate change, if we act now. The UK has led the world in this area, providing an international example when the 2008 Climate Change Act was passed with cross-party support. More recently, leaders of the main Westminster parties signed a pledge committing them to continuing leadership on climate change.

2015 is a critical year for climate action, culminating with a major Conference in Paris in December where governments from across the world will seek to agree a deal to limit climate-changing emissions. Again, the new government will need to be out in front in terms of pushing for this to be an ambitious deal that will really make a difference – this should be a top foreign policy priority for the new Prime Minister and his team.

And again, credible leadership internationally requires strong accompanying action at home, which is why we are calling on all the parties to give clear support to the UK’s renewable energy industry, and back a major programme of investment in energy efficiency.

Healthy UK rivers and seas

The next government also needs to conclude work that has begun to protect the UK’s marine wildlife and habitats and ensure a healthy freshwater environment. Among the priorities should be completion of the designation of a well-managed and ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas to safeguard the full range of habitats and species found in UK seas. We also need to see new laws to protect our water environment and prevent too much water being taken from our rivers.

How you can help us

Now, as candidates up and down the country seek our votes, we have an opportunity to ask them what they will do, if they are elected to Parliament, to be environmental champions. We’d be hugely grateful if you can contact your candidates to tell them about our priorities, and ask how they will support them. We’ve set up an action that allows you to build your own manifesto and send it those who aspire to be your MP. Thank you for your support.